A system for sealing a percutaneous puncture in a blood vessel can comprise an inner seal which is adapted to be positioned against an inner surface of the vessel wall, and a locking member which is connected to the inner seal by, for example, a filament or a suture, and which is adapted to be positioned against an outer surface of the vessel wall such that the percutaneous puncture is sealed there between. During the phase of insertion, the inner seal is folded inside an introducer tube which is resting in the puncture to provide access to the interior of the blood vessel. Deployment of the inner seal inside the vessel takes place by pushing the inner seal through the tube, out from the distal end opening of the introducer. To ensure proper unfolding of the inner seal, the inner seal has to be deployed some distance away from the puncture hole in the vessel wall before the inner seal is positioned to be securely seated against the inner surface of the vessel wall. When the inner seal has been deployed inside the blood vessel, the introducer is retracted from the puncture to rest with its distal end outside the vessel, in close proximity to the puncture. When, during said retraction, the inner seal has been positioned against the vessel wall to cover the puncture, the locking member is pushed forward through the introducer tube until the locking member is tamped in contact with the outer surface of the vessel wall. To effectuate the different actions described above, inserter tools have been proposed which also accommodate the inner seal and the locking member before the sealing procedure.
The devices and procedures for sealing a percutaneous puncture in a blood vessel may be improved with respect to drawbacks connected with the prior art systems:
For example, existing systems unconditionally allow tamping of the locking member and provide no verification that the distal end of the introducer is retracted from the puncture before tamping, leading to a possibility of the locking member unintentionally being positioned inside the vessel in case of an incorrect maneuver.
Another drawback in existing systems is that two hands typically are required to handle existing tools for deployment of the inner seal, seating the inner seal against the vessel wall, and for tamping of the locking member.